It is said that Jesus, at one stage of his journeyings "came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and went up into a mountain, and sat down there." He was accompanied by his disciples, and thousands of men, women and children who had come to listen to him preach. Now we must bear in mind that there was not the kind of service infrastructure that we are accustomed to having in modern times. There were no ice-cream stalls, beer tents, burgher bars or the rest. Yet all those people went up the mountain with ne'er, or very little, thought of the consequences. Are we supposed to think that their children were so different from today's kids that they wouldn't get hungry or thirsty? Did no-one say, "Mum, I'm hungry?" "Mum, Rachel's got some sweets, and she won't let me have one?" "Dad, are we there yet?" Oh come on!
In the Matthew (Chap.15, verse 32) version - one of six tellings of the 'feeding of the multitude' stories - Jesus said that he had compassion on the multitude, because they continued with him for three days, and had nothing to eat. Well you know the rest of the story I'm sure. The disciples collected all the available food, a single digit number of loaves and a few fishes. Amazingly, this meagre collection was shared out amongst the thousands waiting. Not only that, but there were baskets full of leftovers. Some miracle!
Of course, there have been many interpretations advanced for this miracle, some based on worthy but personal agendas. And the the story is full of interesting symbolism. Yet for all that there are many who choose to believe this story as literal truth. The psycho-spiritual investment in that belief must be enormous to maintain that belief in the face of all that is reasonable, is of reason. In case it should be concluded that this kind of belief is the preserve of the religious, let me now turn to another miracle. It goes something like this.
All the atoms and their subatomic particles, and all the quanta of energy that are contained within the billions of stars that make up all the trillions of galaxies in the observable universe - not to mention the major portion of the universe consisting of Dark Matter and Dark Energy - came into being in the tiniest fraction of a second, from a singularity of infinitely small dimensions (actually a singularity cannot have dimensions) 13.7 billion years ago, give or take! Now that is some kind of a miracle, and one which is believed by millions of people. Once again, we see a huge investment in scientific authority, just as the religious have invested in religion and the Church. (I use the word Church in its widest possible meaning.)
So, is the rest of humanity who does not follow the edicts of the Church and/or Science off the hook? Not on your life! In countries which have democratic institutions, we have the right to elect politicians to perform social and economic miracles. That we vote those people into positions of power for reasons that are often self-contradictory appears to escape the notice of many people. Yes, we want more benefits and greater security: No, we don't want our taxes increased. Yes, we need more homes, roads and other facilities built: No, we don't want them in our back yards. Yes, we want less pollution: No we're not prepared to accept the cost and inconvenience. The list goes on and on, and yes, this is a somewhat simplistic picture that I have painted.
Yet it seems to me to be true that the kind of psycho-spiritual investments to which I have alluded blinds us to the illusory nature of our perceptions and our many denials. Somewhere along the way we need the child who, free of preconceptions, will unabashedly say,
"Look at the King! Look at the the King! Look at the King, the King, the King!
The King is in the all together
But all together the all together
He's all together as naked as the day that he was born."
Oh to be free of all illusion, and see the naked truth in all its glory. And now, having served its purpose, perhaps I can be freed from this ear worm.
Hi Tom
ReplyDeleteThere are those who are the supernaturalists who believe literally in the miracles and then there are the rationalists who claim Christ to be just another apocalyptic heroic preacher. But what I think must rate as a miracle, in terms of longevity, is that Christ become a tensive metaphor of hope for successive generations, to change the way we see the world and invite us to become vulnerable just as he did. This is not so far away from science which seems to be evolving into more accommodative possibilities; such as quantum and parallel universe theories, to shield humanity from the terror we may be alone in the universe, so in faith we look for comfort elsewhere.
But we cannot accept Christ’s invitation, for it seems to me to follow him in this vein, of becoming vulnerable and accepting the radical message of the parables is a frightening proposition. Today, we seek the literal miracles in hand outs, rather than to give the hand up to others, just as Christ appealed to his followers so long ago.If we could, it would the 3rd miracle ?
Best wishes
Hi Lindsay. If indeed the 'more accommodative possibilities' that you outline are designed to shield humanity, I would suggest that those designer scientists are in the wrong professions. The effects of proposed hypotheses, whether or not they in fact shield a terror-struck humanity, are separate from the goals of presumed truth that are sought. You say we cannot accept Christ's invitation to follow him. That may be correct, as I reported in one of my previous posts:-
Deletehttp://tomatgwynt.blogspot.fr/2013/06/god-loves-you-tom.html
But I was not being deflected from the Christ-path because the following of his spiritual path was a frightening proposition, but because it was inappropriate. We each need to follow our own, honestly arrived at, path regardless of how frightening the prospect might be. And whatever path we follow, it is always subject to universal, spiritual laws. At least that is my experience.
Tom, I have also attempted the release from an ear-worm by including it in a blog-post. What that manages to do for me is to connect itself to yet another path of thought. Not a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteA quote from Richard Bach that I love:
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."
For me, water into wine, loaves and fishes, walking on the waves; these are reminders that a master can be trusted to lead because they know the true ways of the universe, and it is possible to become aligned with that universe through that trust.
It seems a very long time since I knew of a political leader who deserved such trust, sadly.
I suppose for me the difficulty with religious leadership has a parallel cause, again, sadly.
Hullo Halle. I do like your Richard Bach quote. Too often, it is a case of the blind leading the blind. I would like to think that, if we are earnest enough, doors on which we knock will be opened; honest seeking will be rewarded with findings. But we need to develop discernment, probably through trial and error and learning through honest mistakes. But we do not give up when the road gets difficult, do we?
ReplyDeleteDiscernment and realising we have been mistaken in our trust sometimes leads to disillusionment unfortunately. But I agree; giving up is certainly not an option for us.
DeleteHi Tom-I read your references to an early post with interest, but it could be I was not clear in expressing my ideas. Spiritual laws as you say are what seems to govern our journey but don’t you think they are also more or less exemplified in the golden rule and many of the ideas /parables and so forth inherent in Christs invitation to follow him as was depicted to the fisherman on the shores of galilee. It wasn’t clear cut to the disciples then, who often seemed to be somewhat confused, just as his appeal to humanity was rejected by many and the miracles don’t seems to have figured strongly in his basic assertions. As Schweitzer has said we shall learn in our own experience Who He is. That will be appropriate to us in different ways, in the joys, sorrows and suffering and so a forth that give rise to our approaches, but in my opinion we will remain fearful much more so that we are generally willing to admit ( for good reasons since the unknown must engender this) as vulnerable ordinary human beings. So we cannot accept this fully as our ego will not allow us. I was posing the question that scientists are no more immune to such vulnerabilities as anyone else, to talk about alterative universes and so forth, although, of course, I concur with what you say about the quest in the field for objectivity
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Hullo Again Lindsay: It seems to me that your response is touching on a number of deep issues that I cannot respond to in a mere comments box. Perhaps the parables were stories told to a populace that was not yet 'knowing' enough to recognise the full import of Jesus' teaching, and that may well hold true today. As you point out, his disciples, also, were "in the dark" quite often. The only miracles to get an airing in all four gospels was the 'feeding of the multitude' and the resurrection. Clearly, both miracles are extremely important, but I cannot accept either of them as literal truth. For me their importance must, therefore, lie in another direction more inner or psycho-spiritual direction. And I agree with your Schweitzer quote.
DeleteI suppose the point you make about the way our ego dominates us, is the one thing here that I find disturbing. But, yes, I agree with you on this point. I suspect that a large part of my journey is about trying to get around and behind that control mechanism, and banishing as many of the illusions it generates as possible in order to discover the truth. In the end we will all have to face those awful truths, from that I feel there is no escape.
I hope such a child comes along, Tom. Yet, so long as our passionate insistence that human beings deserve more than nature, history, and the human condition are prepared to give them is taken into account I'm afraid things will continue as they are. Most people enjoy their illusions far too much to give them up willingly.
ReplyDeleteHullo Susan: It may well be that such a child may yet appear, but I fear its reception will be no better received than the previous exemplars. As you so rightly say, most people enjoy their illusions far too much to give them up willingly. But the cause to which we owe our allegiance is not yet lost. Is it not likely that the Child waits inside us, asking to be sought and found? If it were otherwise, I fear I have wasted an awful lot of precious time.
DeleteI think the Child you speak of is the one who has grown beyond ordinary wisdom, Tom. It's the only journey worth making and, no, you haven't been wasting your time. But you know that better than most.
DeleteI liked your little homily very much, read it several times to savour its structure and intention. It wasn’t until I considered a case in which I personally made a huge investment in believing, against all likelihood, a whole system of thought & behaviour---an investment of time, energy & money---that I could see truth in your closing lines, & the words of Danny Kaye’s song.
ReplyDeleteI especially like, in hindsight, the teasing nature of your examples, wherein that huge investment could be made. Am I right in reading into your homily (is that an acceptable word) a message that if we free ourselves from beliefs, we shall see the naked truth in its glory? If we read the Bible without subscribing to Christian doctrines, absorb stories told by physicists and politicians with interest laced with scepticism, will we have the spiritual deck clearer for enlightenment as and when it decides to land upon us?
Vincent: I'm glad you enjoyed this post, though I hope you did not see it as a sermon. I doubt that the process of freeing ourselves of all belief systems can ever be complete. Indeed, I suspect that some belief is necessary at times to get us across the darkened places where there are no clear signs to follow. However, although a belief may be useful at some stages, for me a belief must be constantly queried, and ditched when it is no longer fit for purpose.
DeleteClearing away the illusions of belief is a kind of thinning out process, in which the haze becomes steadily less opaque. Your use of the comparative "clearer" is, I think, apposite. Yes, read any example of holy writ, but with an open mind free of dogma and literalism(?) Absorb stories told by physicists with healthy doubt and scepticism. Politicians? Maybe a pinch of salt or two will add savour to their pronouncements.